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1. The Committee notes with regret that a report has not been received from the Government since September 1996. It understands that the Office, in collaboration with the European Union TACIS programme, has contributed to the "Conception of the State Employment Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic until 2010", approved by the Government in February 2004. It understands that the adoption of this conception will allow the Government to adopt in the near future a national action plan marking a new orientation on active labour market policy and including measures aimed at specific groups of the population. It also recalls that the Government adopted a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) in December 2002. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures taken as a result of the assistance received from the ILO in relation to employment policy, and to indicate any particular difficulties that have been encountered in achieving the established employment objectives, in the framework of a coordinated social and economic policy and in consultation with the representatives of the persons affected, in accordance with Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention.

2. The Committee also asks the Government to report on:

-  the measures taken or envisaged to compile statistics on the labour market and employment problems in order to obtain data on the characteristics and trends in job offers and demands which are necessary to implement an active employment policy;

-  the manner in which measures taken with the support of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other development banks for carrying out the structural reforms necessary for the transition to a market economy contribute to the promotion of employment;

-  information on the specific training and placement measures for persons who have particular difficulties in finding and retaining employment such as women, young persons, older workers and disabled persons;

-  training and retraining measures for workers affected by structural reforms;

-  the manner in which consultations take place with representatives of employers and workers concerning employment policies;

-  the different programmes the Government has adopted that concern specific groups of workers, such as the "National programme on state support for disabled persons", the "National programme ‘Zhashtyk’ on youth development until 2010", and the "State programme New Generation for the protection of children’s rights".

3. The preparation of a detailed report, including the indications requested in this observation, will certainly provide the Government and the social partners with an opportunity to evaluate the achievement of the objectives of full and productive employment of the Convention. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the technical assistance offered by the Office, which may assist it to comply with the reporting obligations, and to implement an active employment policy in the sense of the Convention.

[The Government is invited to reply in detail to the present comments in 2005.]